FT. WORTH, TX
(KTVT/CBS) – A small company is taking a creative, high-tech approach to a problem
affecting the health and work productivity of millions of Americans.
What may look like
a small escape pod from a Star Wars
movie is actually a napping pod at Power Naps.
It's one of three pods clients can
choose from to catch some midday sleep.
"Shut your eyes,
get the old 40 winks, if you will, and be ready to go for the rest of the day,"
said Greg Hackbarth, Power Naps co-owner.
Research shows there is probably a market for the concept.
The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention says nearly 40 million Americans are getting by
on less than six hours of sleep a day, significantly less than the seven to nine
recommended.
Lack of sleep doesn't
just hit your health. It can also affect a company's bottom line.
A new Harvard
medical study found lack of sleep costs companies $65 billion in lost
productivity.
Ted Olsen and Hackbarth
want to remedy both the medical and financial problems related to inadequate sleep.
"We have to break
that barrier of people thinking it's wrong to lay and down and take a nap in
the middle of the day or take that time off away from work," Hackbarth said.
Whitney Neal has been
coming here regularly for the last few weeks to squeeze in a nap during his
lunch break.
He said friends
and family tease him about his nap habit, but a quick snooze makes him a better
worker.
"I come in here,
and I sleep for about 15, 20 minutes," Neal said. "That's the most I sleep, and
I'm good for the rest of the day. They call me an old man a lot of times. Well,
I'm a productive old man."
Copyright 2013 KTVT via CBS. All rights
reserved.
A Ft. Worth company is selling power naps as a way to make people feel better and get them to perform better at work. (Source: KTVT/CBS)
